BEFORE OPENING PINTO, ceramist Jessica Wertz and woodworker Jason Wittman had strangers knocking on their Hillsboro studio doors regularly. Residents of the tiny town 30 minutes west of Truth or Consequences often referred travelers to the couple’s stoop for locally made mementos. So establishing a retail storefront on the community’s main drag in 2024 created a way for visitors to buy their handmade home goods during set hours.

“My designs have always been Southwest oriented,” says Wertz, a Pennsylvania native who previously lived in New Mexico as a young adult. “This land called to me aesthetically.” An electrical engineer from southern California, Wittman has worked for Netflix in Los Angeles and Albuquerque, building sets for shows like Stranger Things. They discovered Hillsboro while searching for a new home base in 2020. “I saw this red barn as a ceramics studio,” Wertz says. “I liked the energy.”

1. Vintage Mexican artisan jewelry, $80–$300; fine porcelain jewelry, $40–$150. 2. Incense diffusers, $34; candles, $25; silkscreen T-shirts, $26. 3. Raw silk plant-dyed bandanas, $38. 4. Handmade olive oil bottles, $70. 5. Pewter measuring cup set, $68; forged spreading knives, $12; blown glass vase, $24.

With experience selling at art shows and managing a gallery, Wertz knew she enjoyed the retail environment. They curate the high-end boutique’s merchandise—his woodworking, her ceramics, and art by people they know—with a desert modern vibe. “It’s a destination shopping spot,” Wertz says.

Pinto’s other merchandise includes vintage Mexican silver jewelry, glassware, kitchen towels, plant-dyed silk scarves, skin-care products, candles, hats, blankets, and hand-printed T-shirts designed by the co-owners. 

First-time patrons tend to become regulars. “People bring friends the next time they stop through,” Wertz says. “We’re open four hours a day, so people can socialize and shop together.” 

Shop Pinto Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 10762 NM 152 in Hillsboro, and follow them on Instagram (@pinto_hillsboro_nm).